BOGER CITY FIRE CONTRACT ADDRESSED AT RETREAT


Lincolnton Fire chief Mike Lee asked Lincolnton City Council to revisit the fire contract between LFD and the Boger City Volunteer Fire Department.

By Jon Mayhew

The fire service contract between the Lincolnton Fire Department
and Boger City Fire Department received more scrutiny from city
leaders during the weekend budget workshop.

Currently, there is one Lincolnton firefighter staffed at the Boger
City Fire Department, which is a volunteer department.

“We’re not meeting service standards,” said Lee. “There are also
other issues involving the contract, as well as issues with
involving service levels.”

Part of the problem is staffing, according to Lee, who
acknowledged that volunteer firefighters usually work
40-hour-per-week jobs and don’t answer every call, especially
those non-related fire calls.

“The volunteers don’t want to run medical calls in the middle of
the night when they know a Lincolnton fire fighter is there to do
that,” said Lee, adding he is anxious to get out of the Boger City
Fire Department.

“People assigned out there aren’t happy,” said Lee. “It’s like
sending police chief Dean Abernathy out to the sheriff’s office to
work. It’s not a good situation. It’s a tough balancing act. It’s
hard to find anyone at the Lincolnton Fire Department to work
out there.”

Chief Lee also said the contract relationship between Boger City
and Lincolnton is “not a good relationship whatsoever.”

“If there’s a call in Boger City, a Lincolnton fire fighter gets into a
Boger City fire truck,” said Lee. “I want my equipment and my
people in my city.”

Council learned that they would have to give a year’s notice
upon any changes being made to the Lincolnton/Boger City
contract.

One option Lee asked council to consider is renovating the old
Boger City sanitary building to a fire station for eastern
Lincolnton.

Lee estimates the work – if council agrees – could cost up to
$100,000.

“We’d have to extend the bays out 14 feet,” said Lee. “As far as
the interior work is concerned, my boys are ready with their tool
belts. They feel that strongly about the situation.”

Police chief Dean Abernathy said he’s discussed the issue with
Chief Lee. The police department already has an investigator
stationed out at Boger City.

“I agree, something needs to be done,” said Chief Abernathy.

Council voted 3-1 to apply for a Safer Grant for additional
personnel for the Lincolnton Fire Department, presumably to go
out to the Boger City Fire Department until another facility can
be renovated or built.
Councilman Fred Houser voted against applying for the Safer
Grant.

“We need to look at getting a building up and going in the
future,” said Houser. “We need to lay the groundwork for getting
a substation out in the Boger City area.”

Before voting yes for the Safer Grant, councilman Larry Mac
Hovis asked Chief Lee about which department would provide
coverage for the future Carolinas Medical Center – Lincoln in
Boger City.

“We’d have to assist Boger City, but it would be their
responsibility,” said Lee. “That’s because of a mutual aid
agreement. We would send one engine company on a mutual
aid call.”

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